Le dernier message de Paris

Robert Louis Stevenson sums it up beautifully..."For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.  I travel for travel's sake.  The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints."

Our final day in Paris is always difficult...we remind ourselves how good it will be to see our family, friends and furry buddies, but there is always 'un air de tristesse' at leaving...sadness, oui, but with it comes the inspiration to start planning the next trip.  

We started the day early, walking in damp greyness of light fog...a croissant and roulé chocolat blanc, deux cafés and then on to the Tuileries.  The gardens look beautiful...the bright colours of late summer flowers and well-nourished lawns lifting the sombre shades of the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay.  We crossed the pedestrian bridge from the gardens to the new recreational space along the Seine in front of Musee d'Orsay...a space that was formerly a busy road...back over the Seine and a leisurely lunch in rue Montorgueil...then back to the apartment to pack.

It's been a busy month, a different kind of holiday for us...but exciting.  We hope that the next visit will see us staying in our finished apartment, smiling with contentment as a reward for all our efforts leading up to and during this trip.  We feel very lucky to have such a wonderful project 'en cours' and not a day goes by that we don't wonder, "How did we manage this?"  We know how we did...with the aid of the many wonderful people in our life...à bientôt Paris...